RDP's new pride mural, created by artist and alum Kat Simmers. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

ARTIST: ALUM KAT SIMMERS

RDP unveils new mural in celebration of Central Alberta Pride Week

Aug 16, 2024 | 3:19 PM

Just in time for central Alberta Pride Week, Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) revealed a new mural by alum Kat Simmers, entitled Kaleidoscope, to celebrate pride on campus on August 16.

Located on the north-facing wall of the FarSide Bar & Grill and spanning roughly 14×42 feet, the rainbow-hued mural is meant to be a blazing symbol at the forefront of the grounds, representing the school’s efforts to create an inclusive campus.

“We, as an RDP executive and RDP community, recognize the importance of inclusivity, and that’s a big part of our vision as a polytechnic is growing our enrollment, growing our impact, and that is only going to be done if we’re an inclusive community,” said Stuart Cullum, president of RDP. “The Student Association’s initiative for us really represents that intention and was something we’re very, very happy to support.”

The artwork was a joint initiative between the Students’ Association of RDP, Pride on Campus Student Group, and Red Deer Polytechnic itself.

Simmers is an RDP alum and graduated from the visual arts diploma program in 2013.

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“RDP really knew how to stoke the fires of creativity; We had 24-hour studio access. It’s the first place where I started with acrylic paint in earnest, which is why it’s so exciting to come back here using acrylic latex paint,” she said. “I was actually painting these rainbow pallet portraits back then so it feels like a real full circle moment to come back here and do this kaleidoscopic piece.”

She shared that she experienced one sour comment during her 10 days of work on the project, but otherwise found passerby responses to be extremely positive.

Discussions with the Students’ Association about focusing on celebrating the 2SLBTQIA+ community and representing people from all walks of life, mixed with Simmers’s own experiences as a member of the community informed the final design.

“I feel like there’s this thing where queer identity gets very unfairly narrowed down to being about sexuality and to me, it’s about so much more than that. My queerness is very much about community; it’s about kinship; friendship; love; romance. It’s a very multidimensional existence and identity is a huge part of it,” she shared. “I wanted to create something that was tender, not too explicit. I wanted something that was approachable and I don’t think you could be too easily upset by.”

For students that attended the campus before it even became the polytechnic it is today, the mural represents a notable shift in RDP’s efforts.

Devyn Shannon, president of the Student’s Association of RDP said, “My first run through RDC, as it was then, there was no real demonstrated effort of pride on campus. Coming back and seeing that we have the pride crosswalks and things like that was a huge change for me and definitely made me feel a lot more comfortable in being here.”

Related: RDP kicks off Pride Month with annual flag raising

Shannon added, these efforts have received some negative feedback, citing past burnouts that defaced the crosswalks and the pride they represent.

By comparison, the mural should be much harder to deface and, he said, states proudly, “Go ahead and try. We’re here and we’re going to hold our queer students close and there’s nothing you can say that’s going to make us stop giving people support.”

Regardless, as a precautionary method, the mural has been covered with an anti-graffiti coating so if it is vandalized, it will merely be a matter of cleaning it off to restore it.

Simmers worked on the mural from July 8-19 while between other commissions, and the celebration ceremony was held August 16 as a part of Central Alberta Pride Week, which runs from August 11-17.

L-R: Devyn Shannon, president of the Students’ Association of RDP, Azriel Handa, Pride on Campus Student Society representative, mural artist Kat Simmers, RDP president Stuart Cullum, and Central Alberta Pride Society president Lenny Gallant celebrate RDP’s new pride mural. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

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